1 Myths and Ethno Rock Art: In the light of Kaimur inhabitants, India Dr. Sachin Kr. Tiwary Assistant Professor Department of Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University, India Introduction: Modern day tribal and folk groups apparently do not ‘associate themselves with such art in their areas, except to explain it as the work of evil spirits or epic heroes.’ A similar opinion has been expressed about the rock art in Odisha, India, where ‘the local people do not attach any special significance to these rock art sites. To them, the works of art in the shelters are the works of the heavenly bodies or that of the ghosts. They often consider it a taboo to touch such works of art.’ Sometimes the art is defined by the oral traditions or folklores and myths. Myths acts as a body of community knowledge and a mode of communication contribute much towards creating a culturally responsive curriculum for children in different socio-cultural contexts. Local knowledge as a socio-cultural system offers the schools with the verities of pre-school knowledge which the school is unable to explore due to its monoculture curriculum. Near Bhimbetka, the local belief is that witches paint on these rocks during the dark nights of Kanhaiya Art (Shri Krishna Janamashthami) every year. Since prehistoric times, people orally transmitted their experiences, beliefs and important events in the form of stories or legends from generation to generation. Although there are significant cultural differences throughout history, many of these oral traditions appear to be more or less similar and they help in better understanding of the antiquarian remains. The present study is based on the author’s personal survey from 2009 to 2016 in the region of Kaimur, Bihar state, India. He documented several folktales related to the rock art sites in the said region. The present condition of the tribes of Kaimur and the people of the adjoining plain region, their customs, dress, habitations, rituals, mode of worship, behavior and methods of herding and cultivation reminds us of the characteristics features of the proto- historic people, and there is enough archaeological evidence to prove this. This speculation Mentalities/Mentalités Volume 32, Number 1, 2018 ISSN- 0111-8854 @2018 Mentalities/Mentalités All material in the Journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors. 2 need not take us far from the reality and one may hope that in future it will prove to be authentic. The Kaimur plateau and foothills are predominantly inhabited even now, as before, by aboriginals i.e., tribes and semi-tribes (such as the Oraons, Cheros, Kharwars, Bhuiyans, Karias, etc.) who now reside in the village, mostly in mud-built houses. The region of Kaimur shows a pre-historic base to the religious practices widely prevalent in the region, as evident in the paintings depicted in the caves and rock-shelters. The local people refer to these caves as Khoh, which means shelter in the regional language of Kaimur. Significantly, the tradition of painting on the wall of their houses still continues, sometimes with the same kind of symbols and patterns seen in the rock paintings, besides some modified ones. Curiously enough, the tradition of colour preparation with the powdered geru, oil, sindur (vermillion), juice of the bark trees and of beans and other vegetation etc., is prevalent even now amongst the tribal folks of this region. It may thus be surmised that this tradition of colour preparation and using them for painting various figures and patterns on the walls may have had been certainly handed down from generations, since the earliest rock painters devised them. Rock Art Sites of Kaimur The rock art of Kaimur is already known to the1 academic forum. The region is located in the state of Bihar, India. The viewpoint highlighted in the present research paper is 1 Tiwary, S.K. 2010. Management of Rock Art Sites, Pragya-Bharati Vol. XV, K.P.Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna, pp. 38-44, see also Tiwary, S.K. 2011. South Asian arts: Continuity of Nari-Uttana-hasta- pada/Aditiuttanapada and Charkhopadaine: An Ethno-archaeological study, A Online Journal of Cultural expression in South Asia, South Asian Arts; Tiwary, S.K. 2011-12. Rock art by Early Man: Origin, Purpose and Variety, Kala-Vaibhava, Joint Volume-XX, Khiragarh, pp. 201-212; Tiwary, S.K. 2012-13. Comparative Study Kaimur and Central Indian Rock Art, Bharati-37, Dept. of AIHC & Archaeology, Varanasi; Tiwary, S.K. 2013. Decoding death: Connotation of the Cross in the Circle in Indian Rock Art, International Rock Art Symposium, XXV Valcamonica Symposium, Italy, Europe, pp.381-388; Tiwary, S.K. 2013. Newly Discovered Rock Art Heritage in the Kaimur Range of Bihar, India, (Edi.) Gori Tumi Echevarría López, Bulletin APAR Vol. 5 (17- 18). Peru, South America, pp.821-827; Tiwary, S.K. 2013. Newly discovered Rock Art Sites in the Kaimur Range of Bihar, India, Ancient Planet 6, pp. 1-16; Tiwary, S.K. 2015. Petroglyphs in the Kaimur Range of Eastern India, Pleistocene Coalition News 7(3), pp.8-9; Tiwary, S.K. 2013. Ethnic Roots of Cultural Tradition Illustrated in Kaimur Rock Art, Ancient Asia, 4: 2, Ancient Asia is the Official Annual Journal of the Society of South Asian Archaeology (SOSAA), a peer-reviewed open access journal, London, United Kingdom, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/aa.12308. Mentalities/Mentalités Volume 32, Number 1, 2018 ISSN- 0111-8854 @2018 Mentalities/Mentalités All material in the Journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors. 3 not earlier noticed nor even hinted by the author or any rock art researcher of this region. Rock art of Kaimur2 is well known from Chand3, Rampur, Bhagwanpur4, Chainpur and Adhaura blocks5 of the Kaimur district and Rohtas district6. But the most important and the old pictographs are mainly reported from Adhaura range which is close to Mesolithic sites and has distinct geographical setting from rest of the blocks. The region Adhaura is close to Jharkhand and the chain of rock shelters along the river Son is unique. The landscape of this particular region is quite different. Whereas the rock art of this region and other regional rock art are very much similar in the context of landscape, their content varied7. Ethno Rock Art After thoughtful reflection, the author came out with a new term propounded the “ETHNO ROCK ART”8. Though it was coined in the context of Kaimur rock art while the author was engaged in field work from 2009 to 2016, it was eventually understood that the term can be used to all such rock arts in global context as well. This justifies the universal application of the newly devised term. In short we can say that, “Ethno-rock art is a concept involving study of ethnic groups that practice rock art or similar art forms on various media during various occasions, for better interpretation and understanding of rock art’. Myths of the local inhabitants: 2 Tiwary, S.K. 2015. Rock Art of Kaimur Region, Bihar, (Ed.) Ajit Kumar, Rock Art:Recent Researches and New Perspectives (Festschrift to Padma Shri. Dr.Yashodhar Mathpal) (Vol. I & II), New Bharatiya Book Corporation, New Delhi, pp.275-286; Tiwary, S.K. 2013. A Note on the Recently Discovered Gouging Art in Kaimur Region of Utter Pradesh, District Chandauli, Quarterly Journal of the Mythic Society 104 (3), Bangalore, pp. 99-102. 3 Tiwary, S.K. 2015. Discovery of Rock Art in the Khaniya Hill of Kaimur Range, Chand Block, Kaimur, Bihar, (Edi.) Vinay Kumar & Brijesh Rawat, Mani-Sushma: Archaeology and Heritage (Dr. B.R.Mani Felicitation Volume) Vol-II, B.R.Publishing Corporation, New Delhi, pp.535-538. 4 Tiwary, S.K. 2014. Newly Discovered Rock Art Heritage from Bhagwanpur, Block of Kaimur District, Bihar, Heritage: Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Archaeology 2, pp.810‐829. 5 Tiwary, S.K. 2013. Rock Art Heritage of Adhaura block of Kaimur district, Bihar, Pragya-Bharati XVI, K.P.Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna, pp. 9-23; see also Tiwary, S.K. 2014. Newly Discovered Rock Art Sites in Adhaura Block of Kaimur Region, Bihar, History Today 15, New Delhi, pp. 144-146 [ 6 Tiwary, S.K., 2013, Rock art discoveries in Rohtas plateau region, Rohtas district, Bihar, Man and Environment XXXVIII (2), Pune, pp. 86-91. 7 Tiwary, S.K. 2012. A study of rock shelters from Nagauri hilll, Madhya Pradesh, Man and Environment Vol. XXXVII (1), Pune, pp. 64-69. 8 Tiwary, S.K. 2013. Ethnic Roots of Cultural Tradition Illustrated in Kaimur Rock Art, Ancient Asia, 4: 2, Ancient Asia is the Official Annual Journal of the Society of South Asian Archaeology (SOSAA), a peer- reviewed open access journal, London, United Kingdom, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/aa.12308. Mentalities/Mentalités Volume 32, Number 1, 2018 ISSN- 0111-8854 @2018 Mentalities/Mentalités All material in the Journal is subject to copyright; copyright is held by the journal except where otherwise indicated. There is to be no reproduction or distribution of contents by any means without prior permission. Contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors. 4 Mythology of the local inhabitants has been a long overlooked source of information for interpreting the meaning and function of the rock art.